It takes a particularly ham-fisted filmmaker to transform a fascinating and historically significant story into something as formulaic as 42.

The achievements of inspirational Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier in major league baseball in 1947, don't need to be hammered home with blaring music, platitudinous dialogue and over-earnest repetition. Robinson's contributions to the world speak volumes and would have benefited greatly from a less heavy-handed and stiff treatment than that by writer-director Brian Helgeland (** 1/2 out of four; rated PG-13; opens Friday nationwide).

Newcomer Chadwick Boseman is terrific as Robinson. He conveys a powerful blend of physicality, bravery, intelligence and stoicism. And Nicole Beharie is superb as his supportive wife Rachel. But Harrison Ford'sportrayal of Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey is more blustery and caricatured than fully formed.

Helgeland focuses excessively on Rickey at the expense of Robinson, the first African-American allowed to play in the major leagues since the 1880s. The film is called 42 after all, which was Robinson's uniform number (later retired by all major league teams). While Rickey is a key character, there's not enough of Robinson's back story to convey the full drama of his place in history.

Did Helgeland think that it would be more palatable to a mass audience if he focused on a white baseball executive as much as on a black player who changed the face of the game? Or was he simply so in awe at having landed a major movie star like Ford that he gave him an inordinate amount of screen time?

The film focuses on the years between 1945 and 1947, culminating with Robinson's debut with the Dodgers. There is a brief reference to the Pasadena, Calif., native's sports career at UCLA and to his time in the army, where he received a court-martial for a temper flare-up.

Later we see Rickey asking Robinson if he can avoid fighting back when he faces racist obstructionists. The player courageously withstands a wide range of discrimination, from being refused a room at the team's usual hotel to aggressive taunting. First assigned to the Montreal Royals, the Dodgers' top farm team, Robinson is treated badly during spring training and threatened by locals. Once he joins the Dodgers, Robinson endures more ire from teammates, and several sign a petition protesting his presence.

Supporting players bolster the film's potency. Christopher Meloni is wonderful as the no-nonsense player-turned-manager Leo Durocher, who nips the petition in the bud. Alan Tudyk gives an unnerving performance as Philadelphia Phillies manager Ben Chapman, who relentlessly unleashes invective at Robinson during a pivotal game. The insults he hurls are so vile as to be almost unbearable for the audience to endure.

By focusing on Robinson's first season in 1947, the film feels incomplete, despite a few powerful scenes on the diamond. The viewer yearns to know what came before and after his record-breaking debut.